[kingofspain]

I'd have to agree. Having worked for almost free for no less than 4 "startups" with absolutely nothing to show for it, I'm a little more hesitant than most to jump in again. There's only so many times someone can say "This time it's different" before you stop listening.

Plus I find it hard to feign the appropriate level of passion for leveraging social graphs in a disruptive manner or making business logic sexy.

I'm always been a cynical type but the majority of places I've had experience with have given me reason to bolster that outlook :)

[kareemm]

Why are you blaming the startup founders? You chose to work for "almost free". And if you have "absolutely nothing to show for it" after working at four startups - where learning is accelerated - it's probably not the startup founders' fault.

Don't mean to be harsh but giving responsibility for your decisions to others is a recipe for unhappiness (and cynicism).

[randall]

I think working with one "no hope" startup is good. I've worked with exactly one, and that's what I expect to leave it at.

I've also worked with four "has hope" startups (aka I take some cash) and the lessons there are huge.

The startups you describe are "no hope" startups. Try to find one that has users, growth and money. You'll dig it and learn a lot.